Post Mortem
by boppertwin02
Summary: Someone's got a deadly message... and they're sending it through the mail. Trio Investigates...
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

Stella Donahue hadn't quite woken up yet. She growled angrily as her clock reminded her for the third time, that if she didn't get up, she'd be late for her noon shift at the Leaky Cauldron.

Stella grabbed her wand from her bedside table and finally rose from the bed. She couldn't risk being late again. She need that job to prepare her for the day she opened her own successful bar.

She walked through her flat, waving her wand as she went. Her robes flew from her closet to lay neatly on the bed. Coffee started to prepare itself in the kitchen and the shower started up in the bathroom. Stella stepped into the shower and screamed in agony as she realized the water was scalding hot. She scolded herself for staying out late with her friends last night. She couldn't perform magic well when she was barely awake.

After performing a quick drying spell on herself, she walked back into her bedroom to dress. She made her bed and walked into the kitchen to have a cup of coffee and read the daily prophet. Just as she sat down at the kitchen table, and owl appeared at her window carrying a package.

_The mail's already come, _she thought to herself. She grabbed the small package from the owl and it flew off into the morning.

Inspecting the package, she found a small card taped to the underside.

_To Stella, From Mum._

_I hope you'll find this useful._

Stella smiled to herself. Since she'd moved away from home the previous year, her mother was always sending her food, supplies and other things to help her as she was living on her own.

She unwrapped the package and found a small blood red box. She eyed it, confused. Whatever was inside was obviously small. What could possibly fit in it that could be of use to her?

Finally, Stella removed the box's lid. Before she could even look inside, there was a flash of green light and Stella crumpled to the floor. She was dead.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm not going to go into too much detail within the story, so I'll just let you know some of the basics. Harry, Ron and Hermione run an independent Auror organization called Trio. They solve cases that are handed over to them by the ministry as well as some private cases. **

Harry Potter walked through the threshold of the small London flat. No matter how often he did it, his heart dropped every time he walked into a crime scene. He approached a young wizard standing over the body of a girl.

"Mr. Potter, sir," the wizard said, acknowledging him.

"Roarke," Harry greeted. "Report please."

"Yes sir. The victim has been identified as Stella Donahue. Age 19. Occupation, barmaid and waitress at the Leaky Cauldron. A co-worker noticed that she wasn't at work today. She came over to see if she was alright and found her like this. She sent a floo call to Magical Law enforcement from a neighbors flat.

Harry eyed the body while Roarke continued.

"So far there's no evidence to suggest any foul play. According to those who were first on scene, the wards were still up when they arrived."

"How did the coworker get in?" Harry asked.

"She said that she was allowed in through the wards."

Roarke looked at the girl and shook his head. "Sir, I must say that this is probably one of the most bizarre crime scenes I've ever encountered."

"Why is that?"

"There's nothing here. There's only one cup of coffee on the table. She's in her work robes. The victim looks completely healthy and there's no sign that anyone else had entered this apartment. It's almost as if there has been no crime committed. How does a healthy 19 year old girl drop dead?"

Harry looked at his colleague. "That's why the ministry called us, isn't it."

* * *

Not for the first time in his life, Ron Weasley was completely dumbfounded. 

"This is unbelievable," Ron said looking over the piece of parchment in his hand. He had just received the preliminary report on their victims condition.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing."

Hermione grew irritated and snatched the parchment out of his hand.

"Oh," she said after she read over the paper.

"See? Nothing. There's no poison in her system. All of her organs appear to be in perfect condition. She seems to have taken good care of herself. I haven't had a chance to look over the body myself, but I'm pretty sure I'll get the same results. Bloody hell. Three years of healer training, and I'm baffled."

"Are you going to check for spell damage?"

"I thought it was already decided that no one else had entered her flat?"

"Not exactly. We're wizards Ron. We can cover our tracks. Let's just get all of our bases covered."

"What?" Ron asked, confused.

Hermione sighed. "I mean, just check for any spell damage. I'm going to go find Colin to see if he's gotten those crime scene photos developed."

* * *

"I still don't understand why you lot were called. It doesn't look as though you're even dealing with a murder," Ginny Weasley said as she sat across from Harry at his desk. 

"I know, but you you know how the ministry is. If things look suspicious, they call us."

"What have you got as far as evidence?" she asked.

"Not much, but even if we did I'm not totally sure I'd be able to share it with you," Harry replied.

"You're lucky that this isn't a high profile case. You'd have to come up with something better than that. You still don't even know how the girl died."

Ginny rose from her seat. "Good luck. I'm off to practice." She walked around to him and kissed him.

As Ginny walked out, Delia, the secretary walked in.

"Mr. Potter?"

"Yes Delia," Harry said.

"I've got the address for the victim's next of kin. I was supposed to give it to Mr. Weasley, but he's not here."

"That's fine Delia. I'll give him the message."

"Alright." She turned to leave, but hesitated.

"Is everything okay Delia?" Harry asked, noticing her hesitation.

"Er, yes. It's just...I was wondering..."

"What?"

"If you could get your girlfriend's autograph for me. Well, not for me. I'm not really into Quidditch. But my sister is 14 and she loves the Harpies, and Ginny is her favorite player."

Harry couldn't help but smile. If it weren't for the fact that he knew how brilliant Delia actually was, he'd assume that she was completely superficial. It was times like that Harry had to remind himself that Delia was an extraordinarily talented witch and an very intelligent woman.

"Sure Delia. I'll ask her."

"Thanks. Oh and I owled your preliminary reports to the minister and Magical Law Enforcement."

"Thank you Delia."

Harry was left to ponder the case on his own as she left.

"How in the hell did this girl die? How can we solve this case if we don't even know what happened?" Harry asked himself aloud.

Almost as if on cue, Ron rushed into Harry's office.

"I did some double checking on Donahue's body," said Ron.

"And?"

"She was murdered."

"How?"

"The killing curse."

* * *

"I don't know exactly what it is you're looking for Hermione, but I doubt you'll find it in these photographs," said Colin Creevey. Photos of witches and wizards moving about the victim's flat lay sprawled across Hermione's desk. 

"I've looked over these pictures, and nothing really stands out."

"There's got to be something Colin. Something killed this girl and something in these photos will give me a clue."

Hermione inspected photo after photo and had almost given up, until Colin spotted something.

"Damn it! Why didn't I notice it? I was there," he shouted.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Do you see that?" he asked, pointing to one of the agents in the picture.

"What is she doing?"

"I remember, it was bloody freezing in there, so Matthews closed the window," said Colin.

"Meaning the window was open when you all arrived?" Hermione asked, catching on.

"Yes."

"Excellent." she said before she rushed to Harry's office.

**A/N: Sorry the chapter is short. The rest will probably be short as well. Anyway, like I said I'm not going to go into much detail about Trio in the story, so if you have any questions about anything, just ask. Also, I know the thing about Ron going through healer training seems a little far-fetched, it's for the sake of the story. It's that way because I want it to be. He's not really a fully qualified healer. He's sort of like a Medical Examiner. **


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: Thanks for the review. As requested, I've thrown in a little bit of backstory. I had originally put all of that information in the author's notes of the prologue, but I noticed that not many people were reading past the prologue. I was afraid that maybe it was putting people off, so I got rid of it. I suppose it is better to throw it into the story.**

"I'm very sorry for your loss Mrs. Donahue," said Ron, soothingly to the older woman. Her eyes were red from crying and she looked as though she hadn't slept.

"Is there anything we can get you?" Hermione asked.

"No thank you dear. Would you all like some tea?"

"No thank you Mrs. Donahue," said Harry. "But we'd like to ask you some questions if you're up to it?"

She nodded.

"When was the last time you saw your daughter?"

"At Christmas. We always spend Christmas together. Just the two of us."

"I take it you had a good relationship," Hermione stated.

"Yes." She sniffed. "We were very close. Her father died shortly before she was born. She was all I had. The day she moved out was one of the saddest days of my life."

"What was your daughter like? What kind of friends did she have?" Ron asked.

"She was very friendly and outgoing. She liked to go out and be seen. She had many friends, but she was closest to Tallulah Nelson."

"Was?"

"She died a few years ago. Stella took it pretty badly. She and Tallulah always said that they were going to open a bar together. Stella was determined to make that dream a reality, even with Tallulah gone."

She broke down into tears. Hermione conjured up a handkerchief and handed it to the woman.

"Mrs. Donahue," Harry started, "Did your daughter have any enemies?"

"Why?"

"We just need to know if anyone would want her hurt or killed."

"Killed? You believe she was murdered?"

"Our investigation is ongoing Mrs. Donahue," said Hermione.

She hesitated. She opened her mouth to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted her.

"Excuse me." She left the room. Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in silence until a voice broke out from the fire.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt," said Delia as her head floated in the fire, "but one of you is needed at 23 Blumenthal Lane."

"What is it Delia?" Ron asked.

"Another suspicious death."

"I'll go," Hermione volunteered. "Give my apologies to Mrs. Donahue." She pulled out her wand and disapparated.

Mrs. Donahue reentered the room followed by a short man with thinning hair.

"This is Mr. Partridge. He's here to help me make funeral arrangements."

Ron and Harry greeted him.

"It's a pleasure to meet you gentlemen," the man said. "Its so unfortunate though, that I'm meeting you under these circumstances."

"Did Ms. Granger have to leave? I heard someone disapparate?" said Mrs. Donahue.

"Yes, she was called away for a case," Harry replied. "Since it seems that you have business to take care of Mr. Weasley and I will go as well. We'll have to finish our discussion soon."

"Of course."

Harry and Ron disapparated, and landed in Harry's office.

"What do you think of her mother as a suspect?" Harry asked before Ron had a chance to compose himself.

"I don't know Harry. She seemed awfully devastated."

"You don't think there's a possibility she was acting?"

"I can't say. But what reason would she have to kill her daughter. And what evidence do we have linking her to the crime?"

"She did send her daughter a gift. We collected a small red box from the crime scene. It was right next to the body. What ever was in it could have killed her."

"Slight problem with that theory Harry. There was nothing in that box."

"That we know of."

"But wouldn't it have been near the body?"

Harry sighed. He understood Ron's doubts. They would just have to investigate further.

"We'll keep looking. We're going to have to go back to Donahue's house. I'd hate to think that a mother would murder her own child, but-" Harry was cut off by a voice coming from the fireplace in his office.

"Potter. Weasley.," said the voice of Kingsley Shacklebolt. "We've got another one for you."

"I'm on it," said Ron. "Just tell me the address."

* * *

"The victim has been identified as Hugh Mercer. Age: 41. Occupation: Healer."

"Who called this in?" Hermione asked.

"His wife. Pringle is taking her statement now," said Matthews, pointing to a blond woman, still in her dressing gown. Hermione could see that she was shaking as she approached them.

"I'll take over from here Pringle," Hermione said.

"Yes ma'am." The young ma'am walked away.

"Mrs. Mercer, I'm Hermione Granger from Trio."

"I kn-kn-know who you are. Why are _you _here?"

"Excuse me?" said Hermione.

"My husband is dead. Why didn't they send any real aurors?" she aksed angrily.

"I beg your pardon Mrs. Mercer. I know that Trio is a rather young agency, having only been around for two years, but I can assure you that we are all fully trained Aurors. I worked as an Auror for five years, but I decided that I'd rather be my own boss. But this isn't a game to me." Hermione's voice was calm as she spoke to the woman. "I enjoy knowing that victims are receiving justice and that criminals are being pulled off of the streets. Most Aurors do this because it's their job. We at Trio do it because fighting evil is our life. I understand that you've just suffered a terrible loss and would like it to be handled professionally. If you'd like, I can contact magical law enforcement."

Mrs. Mercer's features softened, then she burst into tears.

"I'm so sorry. I just don't understand what happened. He's dead. He was fine and now he's dead. What am I going to do without him?"

"Mrs. Mercer, I'm sure you've already told agent Pringle, but can you tell me what happened?"

"H-hugh and I were having a bit of a lie-in. Then he-he told me he was going to f-fetch the post. It was taking him an awfully long time, s-so I came in to check on him and f-f-found him--" she broke off, sobbing.

"Thank you Mrs. Mercer. I may have more questions for you later. Would you like to go to St. Mungo's? I can have someone escort you." Hermione offered, the woman's earlier outburst forgotten.

She nodded. Hermione summoned Pringle back and informed him of what to do.

Hermione walked over to the body of Hugh Mercer. Lying next to him was a small blood red box.

* * *

Hermione rushed into Harry's office interrupting his floo call with Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of Magical Law enforcement.

"What did Mrs. Donahue send Stella the box for?" she asked hurriedly.

"Excuse me Shacklebolt," Harry turned to face her.

"Hermione, can't you see I'm-"

"This can't wait Harry."

"I didn't ask her about the box. I didn't get a chance to. We left right after you did."

"Harry, we found a box just like it at the Mercer crime scene. Right next to the body like Donahue."

"A box?" said Shacklebolt from the fire. "A red box?"

"Yes. A red one. How do you-?"

"There's one just like it here," he answered, cutting Hermione off.

"What?"

"Shacklebolt called because there's been another death. Aaron O'Hurley. Age 92. Wizengamot. Ron is heading over there now."

"Your team has just arrived Potter. I'll be in touch later." With that, the call was ended.

"What is going on here?" Harry asked, facing the fireplace, his back turned to Hermione. "Three victims die under suspicious circumstances. All found with a box next to them. I'd be wiling to bet that Mercer and O'Hurley were killed with the killing curse. But how?"

Hermione stood quietly for a moment, contemplating Harry's question.

"Harry, do you remember all that trouble Rita Skeeter caused fourth year? That love triangle nonsense."

"Yeah I remember. You got hate letters," Harry answered.

"Yes. I remember one mentioned something about learning to send a curse through the mail."

Harry's eyes went wide as he turned to face her.

"You think someone's actually figured out how to do it."


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thanks again for the review. It was very helpful. It makes me glad to know which areas of my writing need improvement. I hope that this chapter is a little better. I would greatly appreciate any other suggestions.**

* * *

It had been a long week. Three people were dead, and Trio was no closer to finding out why they died. The three founding members sat in a brightly lit conference room at their headquarters. Hermione stood at the head of the small table, while Ron and Harry sat directly across from one another. A large blackboard was placed next to Hermione, filled with information pertaining to their case. 

"What have we got so far?" asked Harry

"All three victims were killed by the killing curse." The chalkboard dictated as Hermione spoke. "All three were found lying next to a small blood red box. Presumably, the killing curse was somehow concentrated and placed into the box, killing the victims as soon as they opened it."

Hermione waved her wand, and a small glass case with the word 'Evidence' embossed on it, appeared on the table. Within the case lay a box found at one of the crime scenes.

Hermione continued. "Stella Donahue's package claimed to be from her mother, Alice. Alice Donahue says she never sent a box to her daughter. Hugh Mercer's was sent from a friend who is currently vacationing in France. We've had agents track him down, and upon questioning, he said that he hasn't seen or spoken to Hugh in several months. Aaron O'Hurley's was supposedly sent from his daughter who is a squib and works at an advertising agency in America."

"Let me guess," said Ron lazily, "she never sent him a box either." Hermione nodded.

Ron stared at the board and frustration set in as he took in the information. The ages of the victims weren't even close. He looked under the heading 'Evidence', and frowned when he noticed how much they were lacking. Frustration grew to anger when he looked under the 'Suspects' heading and found the word 'None' written neatly underneath.

"This makes no sense at all," Ron said. "The victims were all in different stages of life. They had different backgrounds, and had different occupations. What could possibly be the connection?"

"We've got to find out, don't we?" said Harry. "But first, we need to know where these boxes came from. Whoever did this must be an expert at dark arts."

"Not only that," Hermione added. "He or she must be very angry. The killing curse is based on pure hatred. Apparently this person found a way to harness all of that hatred.

"I've got Delia doing some research on it. I'll see if she and I can figure out a way to do this ourselves."

Ron furrowed his brow in confusion. "You mean you're going to try to put the killing curse in a box?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "Not the killing curse, you prat. Maybe something small like a stunner, or a disarming charm."

"Oh. Just make sure I'm not the one opening the box when you two figure it out." Ron responded, smirking.

Harry inspected the box that lay open inside the glass case on the table. The outside was solid crimson, with no engravings or markings. The inside, however, was vivid green. Almost the same color as the green flash made when the killing curse was performed.

"We need to know whether you can use any box, or if it's this type specifically. I'd say based on the coloring, this box was made for the killing curse."

"Where would you find a box like that?" asked Ron

"I'll send Matthews and Roarke to Borgin and Burke's," said Hermione. "And it probably wouldn't hurt to pay Fred and George a visit either."

Harry nodded in agreement. Borgin and Burke's did have a questionable product line. It was most likely the best place to start. He wasn't really startled with Hermione's suggestion of speaking to the twins. He wouldn't have been surprised if this type of magic wasn't something they'd already experimented in, in a lighter sense.

"I've sent Pringle to collect any address books or diaries. I want to see if we can find any mutual acquaintances," Harry said. "I'll take Creevey and see if I can get anything else from Sarah Mercer and Fiona O'Hurley."

"Alright then," said Hermione. "Ron, you and I should pay another visit to Mrs. Donahue. We still have an interview to finish."

* * *

"Thank you for seeing us again Mrs. Donahue," said Hermione as they sat in the living room of the woman's house. She seemed to be doing better. They could still see the sadness in her eyes, but her mood was much lighter. 

"Please, call me Alice," she said.

Another middle-aged woman walked into the room carrying a tray with tea and biscuits. She was very tall and thin. Her dark brown hair was sprinkled with bits of gray. She too, wore a look of sadness. Ron and Hermione eyed her inquiringly.

"This is my friend Wendy," said Alice, noticing their looks. "Wendy, this is Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger."

Her friends face briefly lit up. "Of the famous trio? How very nice to meet you both."

"The pleasure is ours," said Ron, his eyes darting to the tray in front of them.

Wendy smiled. "Have a biscuit."

Ron moved his hand to the tray. He glanced toward Hermione who was glaring at him.

"No thank you." Hermione said firmly. Ron rolled his eyes, and drew his arm back to his side.

"Wendy has been helping me cope these past couple of days. I don't know what I'd have done without her."

Wendy grabbed Alice's hand. "To lose a child is quite possibly the worst feeling in the world. My only comfort is knowing that our girls are probably together now. Just like old times," she said smiling weakly.

"Stella's friend Tallulah was your daughter?" asked Ron.

"Yes," she answered sadly.

"What was it, if you don't mind my asking."

Wendy grabbed a cup of tea and sipped, almost as if she hadn't heard Ron's question. Hermione gave Ron another angry glare.

After a few moments of silence, she finally answered.

"A werewolf attack."

Hermione gasped. "How horrible."

"Indeed it was," Wendy continued. "It was the middle of the night. I didn't even realize Tallulah was gone until I received the howler telling me to get to St. Mungo's immediately. When I got there, I saw Stella in tears. She told me that they had sneaked out."

"They were together?"

"Yes. Poor Stella never forgave herself," said Alice.

"I told her repeatedly that it wasn't her fault. Unfortunately, the healers weren't able to save her. It took ages to get over. But I'm moving on."

Hermione smiled weakly. "That's very admirable."

Wendy squeezed Alice's hand. "I'm just glad that I can be here with Alice in her time of need."

In the midst of Mrs. Nelson's story, Ron had almost forgotten what they'd come there for. They needed to get any information they could from Stella's mother. He decided to get the conversation back on track.

"Mrs. Donahue-er- Alice, we need to know if your daughter had any enemies. We never got an answer last time."

Alice lowered her eyes. "I'm afraid so. Stella had a boyfriend. Simon McGee. He was very abusive."

"You mean, he hit your daughter?" asked Ron, stunned. Alice nodded. This immediately angered Ron. His hand, which was still at his side, balled into a tight fist. Hermione gently placed her hand on his arm to calm him down.

Alice went on. "Stella would come home with bruises almost every day. I pleaded with her to end it. Finally last year, she did. That's why she moved to London. She told me that he'd been sending her letters lately. Begging her to take him back."

She looked at Hermione, her eyes wide with fear. "Would he have done this?"

"We're not sure, but we've got to consider all possibilities," she answered.

"Would you say this Simon fellow was clever?" asked Ron, trying his best to contain his fury.

Hermione and Ron were startled when Alice let out a small laugh. "Hardly. I think he made it out of Hogwarts with two N.E.W.T.S.


	5. Chapter 4

Ron and Hermione sat across from one another at a table in the Leaky Cauldron waiting for Harry to arrive. Both were a little excited at the possibility of a break in the case. Ron had still not got over the news that Stella's boyfriend had hit her. The idea of a man physically harming a woman disgusted him. Hermione was trying her best to calm him down. She didn't want his anger to cloud his judgment and interfere with the case in any way.

"Ron, I understand that you're angry," Hermione explained. "In fact, I'm quite glad that this upsets you. But hunting him down and tearing off his limbs isn't going to solve anything."

"I know Hermione. It's just that the idea of a man hitting a woman-- I can't even think about it. You know I would never do anything like that to you right?"

"I'm sure of that Ron. I know that you were raised better than that and you love me too much. Besides, after I'd finished with you, you'd have several people to answer to," she added with a smile.

"What do you think?" Rona asked. "Should we even bother with this Simon wanker?"

Hermione thought for a moment. Based on what they'd been told by Alice Donahue, she didn't think that he was likely. However, she knew that they couldn't just rule him out without speaking to him first. He may not have sent the package himself, but that didn't mean he had nothing to do with it.

"He is a suspect," Hermione answered after a few moments. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to interview him and see what he knows. I highly doubt that he's the sort of man who'd send a curse through the post. I get the impression he's a little more 'hands on'."

They ordered a couple of butterbeers and continued to discuss the case as they waited for Harry. They were congratulated by a couple of their former classmates, for the success of their organization. After about ten minutes, Harry arrived.

"What did you gather from the victim's wives?" Hermione asked Harry before he even had a chance to sit.

Harry sat, and raised his hand before answering. A young wizard approached the table.

"Can we get a couple more butterbeers please?" he asked.

"Right away Mr. Potter," the young man answered before walking away quickly.

Harry removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Though his vision was horribly impaired, he could almost make out the impatient stare Hermione was fixing him with that moment. He sighed and put his glasses back on .

"Okay, Hugh Mercer was a saint. I've got an arse load of letters to prove it. This man saved dozens of lives. His wife couldn't possibly think of anyone who'd want to kill him."

Hermione was very disappointed by his response. She knew that Hugh Mercer had been targeted specifically. The package had been addressed to him after all.

"And Aaron O'Hurley?" she asked, hoping for a better answer.

"He's on the Wizengamot. I'm sure there are hundreds of men and women in Azkaban who'd want to annihilate the whole lot of them. His wife didn't know anything either."

Harry ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "Creevey is going through the trial lists. We need to find people who he voted to convict and see if we can connect any names to Donahue and Mercer."

"What did you find out?" He asked looking between the two of them hopefully.

"Abusive ex-boyfriend. Apparently the bastard's been begging her to go back to him. We can check him out," said Ron.

"Not that it we think it's going to do much good." Hermione added. "But it's worth a shot."

The trio sat in silence, none of them wanting to say what they were truly thinking. They had absolutely nothing to go on. What little information they'd gained was useless, but they wanted to keep their hopes up. They weren't planning on giving up so easily.

"What's the boyfriend's name?" Harry asked as the waiter returned with the drinks.

"Simon McGee," answered Ron.

"What do you need Simon McGee for?" asked the waiter.

"A case," answered Ron curiously, "Why?"

The waiter frowned. "Because that slimy git is sitting right over there," he said pointing to a dirty looking young man with shoulder length brown hair, sitting at the bar.

He didn't look particularly powerful, yet Ron pulled out his wand nonetheless. He'd been wanting to get his hands on him since hearing about him, and nearly turned gleeful when he learned he was in the room.

"I've got this," he said, rising from the table. Hermione got up from her seat and stood in front of him.

"Ron, please don't do anything rash." she warned.

"Me? Rash?" asked Ron feigning innocence. Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"I'm just going to escort him to our offices and ask him some questions."

Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest, eyebrow still raised.

"Unless of course, he refuses. Then I'll kindly leave him alone until I obtain the proper paperwork to question him." Hermione's stance and expression still hadn't changed.

"And I will not harm him in any way," he said finally getting to what she was waiting for.

"Good."

"Even though he's such a bloody coward, he has to beat up his girlfriend."

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed. "You know what, I'll just go with you."

Ron slumped his shoulders at her words. He turned to Harry with a defeated expression on his face.

"This is the price you pay for working with your girlfriend."

Harry gave him a look of sympathy and shrugged. He watched Ron and Hermione as they walked over to the bar. He barely noticed when Emily Matthews sat down at his table.

"Did anything turn up at Borgin and Burke's?" Harry asked after taking a sip of his butterbeer.

"Negative sir. They don't, and I quote, 'know nothin' about curses in boxes, and if they did, wouldn't be sharin' it with mudblood filth like me.' Wankers," she added under her breath.

Harry smiled. "And the twins?"

"Unfortunately, they've never heard of anything like it either, but they seemed keen on the idea. I wouldn't be surprised if they figured it out soon."

Harry was tired of waiting for a breakthrough. He needed a lead, and fast. Based on what Ron and Hermione had told him, their interview wasn't going to get them anywhere. He decided that he'd better go help Colin look over the Wizengamot's case files, and he wasn't going to rest until he'd found a connection.

888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

Ron and Hermione approached the young man sitting at the bar.

"Simon McGee?" said Ron.

"Who's asking?" the boy asked, not even turning around.

"Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, with Trio," said Ron. Simon sat up straight, then turned to face them.

"I know who you are. You're the ones that helped Harry Potter defeat You-know-who." He narrowed his eyes at them. "What do you want with me?"

"I'm sure you're aware by now, Mr. McGee, that Stella Donahue was found dead several days ago," said Hermione.

Simon began to shuffle uncomfortably under Ron's loathsome stare. "I'm aware."

"If you don't mind, we'd like you to come down to our offices and answer some questions."

Simon's eyes widened in shock. He jumped up from his stool at the bar, causing Ron to react immediately and point his wand is Simon's face. Simon held up his hands, as if surrendering. Hermione grabbed Ron's arm, and forced it down.

"You think I killed her?" he asked, looking directly at Ron's wand.

"We didn't say that," Hermione answered.

"She was the love of my life and you think I killed her!"

Ron couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He grew angry at Simon's words. He forced himself to resist the urge to curse him into the next week.

"The love of your life? You leave bruises on the love of your life? You beat her until she can't take anymore and moves away? You little--"

"Ron, don't." Hermione admonishes.

"You don't know anything about that." says Simon, staring at Ron angrily.

"Well enlighten me. Come answer some questions."

Simon crossed his arms and stood up straight. "I'm not going anywhere with you, and I'm not answering any questions."

Hermione noticed Ron's grip on his wand tighten.

"Why not?" Ron asked. "Do you have something to hide?"

"No, I don't. I don't even know how she died."

"Surely you've read the prophet?" said Ron. "You can read can't you?"

He stepped closer to Ron, almost threateningly.

Hermione was growing frustrated with the both of them. She grabbed Ron and pulled him back, so that she could stand between the two of them.

"What do you know about Hugh Mercer and Aaron O'Hurley?" she asked.

"Who the hell are they?" he asked, causing Ron to laugh out loud. He grabbed Hermione's so that he could lead her towards the exit.

"Let's go Hermione. This idiot isn't worth our time." Once they'd turned their backs, they heard a shuffle, then Simon shout.

"Expelliarmeus!" he yelled. Ron and Hermione stopped in their tracks. They turned to face Simon, who was red faced, pointed his wand directly at Ron. He was staring at it confusion.

Ron laughed again. "The spell is 'expelliarmus' arse-hole. Try it again, and you'll be under arrest for assaulting an auror."

Simon stuffed his wand back into his robes, then stalked out of the Leaky Cauldron. Ron turned to Hermione, who was glaring at him menacingly.

"What? At least I didn't hurt him." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Come on. Looks like Harry's gone back to the office. We should probably head back too."


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews. **

Hermione sat alone in her office a week later. Trio still hadn't gotten any closer to solving the crime. The head of Magical law enforcement had been threatening for the past three days to take the case off of their hands. Hermione and Ron had almost been willing to let him, but Harry's determination kept them from handing it over. It was their case to solve, and that's what they were planning on doing.

The evidence board floated in the air in front of Hermione's desk. She'd been staring at it for so long that her eyes were beginning to cross.

She let out a loud squeal as her office door burst open.

"You're going to love me for this!" exclaimed Delia, grinning broadly. Hermione frowned.

"Well, 'this' better be a good reason why you burst into my office without knocking," she responded. Delia kept smiling.

"Come in Mr. Van der Berg," Delia, said beckoning the visitor. Hermione remained confused as to why Delia was inviting a stranger into her office without so much as an explanation. A middle-aged man with light brown hair and grey eyes stepped into Hermione's office, carrying a small bag. He looked as confused as Hermione felt. He gave a small wave to Hermione, then looked toward Delia expectantly.

"Ms. Granger, this is Mr. Jan Van der Berg," said Delia introducing him. "Mr. Van Den Berg, this is Hermione Granger."

His eyes widened at the sound of her name. "Granger?" he questioned in a thick Dutch accent. "Hermione Granger? Friend of Harry Potter?"

"The one and only," Delia answered. Jan smiled.

"When Ms. Young asked me to come to England to aid in a case, I was unaware that I would be aiding a celebrity. It is an honor Ms. Granger. I will be happy to help in any way that I can."

"I appreciate that Mr. Van der Berg," Hermione responded. "but how exactly do you plan on helping us."

He opened his mouth to speak, but Delia cut him off.

"Jan here, is the owner of a joke shop in the Netherlands. He is also the creator of your spell-in-a-box, or whatever you want to call it."

Hermione's heart leapt. She turned to Delia. "How did you---?"

"I just did a little research," she said, not allowing Hermione to finish.

"You're brilliant, you know that?" Delia blushed.

"Thanks. Not as good as you, but I'm working on it."

Hermione turned her attention back to Jan. "So you were the one who made it possible to send spells in these little boxes," she said pointing to the box that was still enclosed in the glass case.

He nodded slowly. "How did you do it?" Hermione asked, not entirely for the interest of the case.

"It is the cloth. Without going into too many details, it absorbs whatever magic we put into it. The cloth turns whatever color the light issued from the wand is. It will hold the spell for twenty-five seconds. Therefore, you must close the box immediately. Only the person opening the box will be hit with the spell."

Hermione frowned again. "Mr. Van der Berg, why would you sell something like this in a joke shop?" she asked.

"I don't understand Ms. Granger."

"It's dangerous. Didn't you take into consideration that someone could cause a lot of harm with something like this."

He looked at the box that sat on her desk, then back at her. "I did Ms. Granger, which is why I specifically created it so that it would not hold any spell other than harmless jinxes." He reached into the bag he was carrying and pulled out a small green box, similar to the one that sat on Hermione's desk.

"You see, this box is green, meaning it holds a weak hex." Hermione reached for, but he pulled it back.

"I would not open that, unless you would like to be tickled for the next two minutes," he said offering a weak smile.

"The box would be yellow," he continued, "if it held a stunner, or a disarming charm." His eyes turned back to the red box. "No box of mine should turn red. The cloth doesn't hold unforgivable curses. I made sure of it."

Hermione stared at the boxes for several moments. "If someone were clever enough, do you think they'd be able to change to composition. Make it so that it would hold those types of spells."

He as though he was thinking it over. "I suppose it is a possibility. If it was used in such a way, then you have my sincerest apologies. I will take them off the market at once." Hermione nodded. Though a small part of her felt guilty, she knew that it would be for the best, at least until the killer was caught, and they found a way to prevent it from happening again.

"Do you, by chance, keep records of who buys your products?" she asked, hopefully.

"Not on all of my products. However, on something such as this, I do keep records, in case there is an accident of some kind. I will owl them to you as soon as possible." He picked up the green box and put it back into the bag.

"Thank you Mr. Van der Berg," said Hermione, whose curiosity was getting the better of her. "but before you go, I would like the details. If you don't mind."

* * *

"This is good," said Ron. "This means we're finally getting somewhere right?" he asked after Hermione told them of her visit with the joke shop owner.

"Maybe. They're just names. There's no telling what they used the boxes for." Hermione answered. "What about the Wizengamot case files Harry?" she asked.

Harry sighed. "I've looked these pages up and down," he responded, pointing to the stack in front of him. "I can't find any connections."

He pushed the list to Ron. "Maybe you should check it. See if I've missed anything."

Harry didn't really see the point in this, as he'd looked over it dozens of times. He would just feel more confident with his conclusion if he had a second opinion.

"Well maybe we'll find something when we get our list of names from the joke shop owner. He said he'd owl the list soon. We should be getting it within the next couple of days."

"I don't think we're going to have to wait that long," said Ron, still staring at the pages.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry and Hermione is unison.

Ron didn't look at either of them. "Harry, were just looking at the cases O'Hurley voted _for_ a conviction?"

Harry shrugged in response. " I thought that's what we were looking for."

"I thought so too," said Ron. He handing the stack of papers over to Hermione and pointed to the entry that was of interest to him. Hermione's eyes widened, and she gasped as she read it over.

"You really think so?"

"It makes sense doesn't it?"

Harry looked back and forth between his two friends, confused. "Okay, can someone fill me in?"

"We will," Ron replied absently. "Hermione, didn't you say that Van den berg told you that someone could probably change the composition if they were smart enough?"

"Yes." she said, catching on to what he was suggesting. "I'll take a trip over to Hogwarts." With that, she left the conference room quickly.

"What's this all about Ron?" Harry asked.

"Let's head over to St. Mungo's to get some records. Then we're going to go pick up a suspect. I'll fill you in."

**A/N: I hope that you haven't guessed who the killer is. If you have, then that really stinks for me. If you don't know, you will find out in the next chapter, which should be coming soon.**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N: Here it is! The killer will be revealed in this chapter. I hope you're shocked. **

"Can you please explain to me why I'm here?" asked the voice of Trio's annoyed visitor. "I've been here for almost an hour and you haven't explained yourselves. What is the meaning of this?"

Harry glanced at his watch, then towards the door. They'd been waiting for Hermione to return from Hogwarts with the information they needed.

"It will be any minute now," Ron responded. "Would you like something to drink?"

The visitor responded by giving him a look that was a clear 'no'.

Harry and Ron were growing impatient. They finally had a suspect in custody, but weren't able to begin their questioning until Hermione arrived. They had no idea what was keeping her, and were beginning to fear that they'd have to let their suspect go if she didn't arrive soon.

"For the last time, please tell me why I'm here, or I will escort myself out."

"That won't be necessary," said Hermione walking into the interrogation room. "We can begin now."

Harry and Ron both breathed sighs of relief.

"Good. Then you can explain what this is all about."

Ron looked at the person sitting across from him. "I'm sure you're aware of the suspicious murders that have taken place recently."

"You know full well that I'm aware of them." Ron smirked at this statement.

"Here's something you may not know. Sarah Mercer was hospitalized yesterday. She's still very distraught over losing her husband." This visitor stared at Ron perplexed.

"Fiona O'Hurley has moved to the states to live with her daughter. She's not dealing with her husband's murder so well either.

"But of course there's still Alice Donahue. Hermione and I went to see her yesterday. Do you want to know what she said?"

There was no response.

"She said that she didn't think she'd be able to get through this alone. More importantly, that she was so grateful that she had a friend like Wendy Nelson to get her through this time."

The visitor wore a blank expression.

"Some friend you are, eh Wendy?"

"I beg your pardon?" Mrs. Nelson cried.

Ron laughed out loud. "Surely, you don't think Alice is going to think much more of you when she finds out that it was you who murdered her daughter?"

Wendy gasped. "Lies! I've never been so insulted in all my life."

"I believe we're the ones who should be feeling insulted, because you're definitely insulting our intelligence," said Hermione. "Do you think you'd be here if we didn't have solid proof?"

Wendy sniffed and muttered something about celebrities playing detective.

"This isn't a game Mrs. Nelson," said Harry. "We've looked over our evidence very carefully. Jan Van der Berg just sent us over a list of people who'd purchased those boxes. Guess what? Your name was on the list."

"And," Hermione added, opening the folder in front of her. "I just got back from Hogwarts. These are rather impressive marks."

Ron leaned over and scanned the pages. "She's right. Impressive. Not as good as Hermione's but impressive nonetheless. So impressive that you could probably change his spell on the cloth to work with an unforgivable curse."

"Not to mention, the most obvious clue of all," said Hermione. "You're the only person with a connection to all three victims."

She laughed. "And what reason could I possibly have for killing my best friend's child? I've been through that. I would never want to inflict that sort of pain on someone."

"There you go, insulting us again. If you hadn't told us your little sob story--"

"Ron!" Hermione whispered loudly.

Ron rolled his eyes. "I mean, if you hadn't told us about what happened to your daughter, you probably wouldn't even be here."

"And as for your reasoning, what other explanation could there be than revenge?" Harry said.

"Revenge?" she asked. "I don't even know the other victims."

"Well let me refresh your memory,"said Ron. "Hugh Mercer was the healer on duty the night your daughter was killed. Does that ring a bell?"

"Well, I vaguely remember---"

"Vaguely?" Asked Ron, interrupting her. "I'd be willing to bet that you remember everything about the night your daughter died. I'm sure you remember telling her good night. You probably remember the howler telling you to get to St. Mungo's immediately." Wendy's expression grew somber as Ron continued to speak. "You probably even remember finding Stella there in tears, telling you that they'd snuck out. But If I'm sure of anything, it's that you remember Healer Mercer telling you that he wasn't able to save her."

"But why would I need revenge on Stella?"

"She was with Tallulah the night she died. In fact, I bet it was her idea to sneak out. That's why she blamed herself isn't it?" asked Hermione.

"That's what she said," Wendy answered shortly.

"As much as you'd love for us tho believe otherwise, you never forgave her. In your opinion, she led your daughter to her death."

"We can do this one of two ways Wendy," said Ron. "The easy way, where you just tell us everything, or the hard way where we have to go through the trouble to administer Veritaserum. And I'm not too fond of the hard way. Too much paperwork."

Harry nodded. "Not to mention, you could probably expect a much longer sentence."

"What's it going to be?" Ron asked.

The foursome sat in silence for several minutes. Ron, Harry and Hermione stared at Wendy expectantly while her eyes remained on the table in front of her. She'd crossed her arms in front of her chest, and tears began to form in her eyes. Finally, she spoke.

"Stella was always getting Tallulah into trouble. Stealing from the sweets shop in Diagon Alley. Once they set all of the cats in the Magical Menagerie free. I got fined 250 galleons for that. Tallulah was almost expelled for doing magic outside of school once. All because of _her_." She said with a look of disgust on her face.

"Before Tallulah was killed, Stella had talked some older men into buying them some firewhiskey. They snuck it into school the night before they were to leave for the summer holiday. Needless to say I was not very happy when I received the owl the next morning. I told her that she was never to associate with _that girl_ again.

"But then," she croaked, "she talked her into sneaking out of the house that night." She sniffed. Hermione conjured up a box of tissues.

"She said that she _didn't know_ there was going to be a full moon. She _didn't know_ there would be werewolves about," she said rather bitterly.

"And every time she blamed herself, I comforted her. I told her that it wasn't her fault."

"Why did you lie to her?" Hermione asked.

"Because I knew that the little bitch would get what was coming to her!" she snapped. Ron, Harry and Hermione were all surprised by her sudden change of tone. Her face had turned an angry shade of red. She had slammed her palms onto the tables.

"Then that _healer_, if that's what you'd like to call him didn't even try to save my baby."

"I'm sure he tried his best." said Harry.

"My daughter is dead!" She spat in Harry's direction. "He obviously didn't try hard enough."

She grew quiet again and reached for a tissue. Hermione summoned a wastebasket. After wiping her nose, she threw the tissue out, but remained silent.

Ron rose from his chair and walked behind Wendy. He leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

"I still don't understand why you killed Aaron O'Hurley. He wasn't the only person who voted against a conviction."

Wendy turned around in her chair to face Ron.

"He was the deciding vote. The Wizengamot was split down the middle. He broke the tie. He was the one that let that monster go."

"Monster?" Ron questioned with a smirk.

"Yes. She is a monster. She killed my little girl and that bastard let her go because he felt that she wasn't responsible for her actions."

She turned back around toward Harry and Hermione. In the midst of Wendy's angry tirade, she began to laugh. A cold, disturbing laugh that had them all feeling very uncomfortable.

"Do you want to know why they didn't hold her responsible? Because she was rubbish at making Wolfsbane potion. Can you believe it? She'd drank it, and it didn't work properly. Her only punishment was to have a potions master administer it to her monthly."

She finally stopped laughing, and stared at the two in front of her with a crazed look in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what it was like for me to hear that there would be no justice for her? I had to get justice for myself."

"So these were vigilante killings," Ron asked, returning to his seat. "Is that what you're saying?"

Wendy scowled at him. "Call them what you will. They all got what they deserved. Except for that _monster_. But she'll get hers soon enough," she added with an evil smile.

Ron and Harry exchanged glances and smiled. "Unfortunately, she won't," said Harry. "She's out of the country at the moment, so your owl was intercepted."

Ron's smile grew wider as he noticed Wendy's fall.

"You know Mrs. Nelson, it's unfortunate that you didn't receive any justice for your daughter. However, I'm quite pleased knowing that a nutter like you is going to be locked away in Azkaban for the rest of your life."

He glanced over at Hermione, expecting a chastising look. She however, was nodding in agreement with Ron. She conjured up a piece of parchment and quill, and pushed them in front of Wendy.

"For your written confession. Be sure not to leave anything out."

**A/N: Were you shocked? I hope that didn't come from too far out of left field. I know that I didn't leave a lot of hints. Thank you for reading.**


	8. Epilogue

Harry, Ron and Hermione sat in the Three Broomsticks, discussing the events of the previous weeks. They had just solved their biggest case to date, and were celebrating a job well done.

"How did Mrs. Donahue take the news of Mrs. Nelson's arrest?" Harry asked Ron.

"It's hard to say. She was happy to know that her daughter's killer was caught, but on the other hand, she was quite torn by the fact that it was such a close friend.

"Close friend? She murdered her daughter, then had the bollocks to comfort her," said Harry. "If that's a close friend, maybe I'm better off not having any."

Ron and Hermione laughed at his statement. "Wendy was a devastated mother, mourning the loss of her child. I think Alice understands that."

"That and the fact that she'll be locked away for the rest of her life," Ron added.

"That too," said Hermione. She took a sip of her drink.

"At first, I was a little worried that this wouldn't work, you know? Us, doing this on our own. We seem to be doing well though."

"Seems so," said Harry. Ron nodded in agreement.

"Do you think it's going to stay like this?" she asked.

Harry thought for a moment. He scratched his head, then took a long drink of his butterbeer. He finally turned back to Hermione and spoke.

"No," he said. "It's going to get better."

**A/N: Thank you for reading my story and thanks for the reviews. I've got two more 'Trio' stories written, and I'll probably post the second one soon. I'll leave a little preview below.**

**Coming soon... Another Ron/Hermione romance. If you've read our first story Time, and liked it, you will probably like this one as well. It's not set in the same universe, but there will be some similarities (i.e. gay Draco). It's as yet untitled, but we will probably be posting it soon. Here's a little summary:**

**Harry and exes Ron and Hermione are living together as roommates and everything is perfect. That is until Ron and Hermione are shoved into an awkward situation (to Ron anyway) when Harry announces that he's leaving the country on assignment for an entire year, leaving them alone together. To remedy the problem, Harry suggests that they take on another flatmate. Enter Ethan, a handsome, charismatic, intelligent man who loves reading _and _the Chudley Cannons. In other words, the PERFECT man for Hermione and Ron. Or is he...? (I don't mean perfect for Ron in a romantic sense, just to clarify)**

**Okay, now here's a sneak peek at my next 'Trio' story. It is also untitled**

**_...she walked to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and went to the office of Kingsley Shacklebolt, head of the department._**

**_"Hermione, what brings you here? Any advancements in the O'Day case?"_**

**_Hermione shook her head. "Actually, I'm not working that case sir. I'm doing an independent case for a Miss Ashling Noble."_**

**_"Some of my men just picked up Mundungus for stealing from her mother's home."_**

**_"That's why I'm here. I thought I might ask him some questions."_**

**_Kingsley rolled his eyes and motioned toward the exit. "He's all yours. In the holding room."_**

**_Hermione said a thank you, then made her way down the hall to the holding room. There were several rough looking wizards and witches, sitting in the chairs that lined the walls. They all wore invisible bonds. Hermione shook her head when she saw Mundungus, slouched down in his chair, snoring softly. She walked up to him and tapped him on his shoulder._**

**_"Huh? Whozat?" He shouted, waking up. He looked up and saw Hermione standing over him. His eyes widened, and he smiled._**

**_"Hermione!" He said loudly, "Come to spring me?" He yawned._**

**_"Unfortunately no. I've come to ask you a few questions."_**

**_He eyed her suspiciously. "Alright then," he said slowly. "Fire away."_**

**_"What were you doing at Cliodna Noble's house?"_**

**_Mundungus laughed at her directness. "You sure get right to the point don't you? Come on, you know I can't talk business with you."_**

**_"It's for a case," she said growing irritated._**

**_"Fine. I read in the Prophet that she had some things that may be of interest to some people, so I thought I'd have a look. Totally innocent really."_**

**_Hermione smiled. "I'm sure it was. Do you know anything about the Noble's?"_**

**_"Not really," he answered. "Only that they're rich."_**

**_Hermione nodded. She felt that she should have known that that would be his answer._**

**_"Did you see anyone else hanging around?"_**

**_"I told those buggers I saw a suspicious looking bloke skulking about the place. They didn't believe me!"_**

**_"I can't imagine why," said Hermione sarcastically._**

**Ok, so that was the preview. I hope you'll like that one as well. It's a little longer than the first one. **

**Thanks again for reading!**


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